Stranded
by Surreal Realities
Summary: ... People are fragile... if shifted they will shatter... a terrible obstacle in a world of death and conception... but to be with you would mend the wounds... Just to be with you... then maybe I could find... the silver lining..... Asukira
1. Fallen

_A wish... If I could turn back the hands of time... If I could prevent the tears of pain I would... the world is a delicate string of yarn not to be rewound or taken back. A fragile strand could break as to lead to destruction ahead. Pain and tears are all that keep us human.. I know now that... People are fragile... if shifted they will shatter... a terrible obstacle in a world of death and conception... but to be with you would mend the wounds... Just to be with you... then maybe I could find... the silver lining..._

Kira sat in the Strikes cockpit his fingers dancing across the keyboard. His glazed over eyes reflected the icons jumping before him on the screen. Kira could not ignore the constant hurt that teared at him inside (eeew...I'm sorry...) but he learned to ignore it. Being part of this war had changed him. His once happy life was turned into a living hell! He no longer cried for the dead and more to come. He no longer attempted to weep away the pain. He did what he was told, no questions asked. More like a robot than a coordinator or natural. _Type ... type type... typetypetypetypetype.. ... ... . . _

"HEY KIRA!" A voice echoed from the bottom of the strike. Sigh was standing at the base of the Mobile Suit calling his name. "C'mon Kira we're gonna be late for dinner!" He called waving his arms up and down vigorously.

"uh y-yeah" replied Kira softly. "Ok ya I'm coming..."

Kira shut down the Strike and floated down to his friend, a usual blank expression on his face.

"So where are we going again?" He inquired flatly.

Sigh shook his head "Dinner Kira Dinner"

"Ah... Right sorry..." Kira shook his head slightly and followed him to get some food.

They floated down the halls of the Archangel and tried to remember before the war. Even though it was only a few months ago it felt like years. Though I suppose it had been years since Kira was truly happy. 3 years ago back on the lunar base. It wasn't that he was happier living there than in Orb. No, it was his friend Athrun who had stayed with him through thick and thin. He sighed deeply and followed behind his friends in silence.

Athrun Lazily floated down the hall towards the area that held the Aegis. He stopped and looked up at the giant machine. I hadn't been that long ago that him, Nicol, Dearka, Yzak, Rusty and Miguel had snuck into Heliopolis to take the earth forces mobile suites and yet, so much had happened in that short period time. It was there that he had heard his friends voice for the first time in three years. It was there that the betrayal began. Athrun let out a sigh and stood there, engulfed in thought.

"I'm quite sorry to interrupt", coaxed a velvety voice from behind Athrun,

"But I'm afraid that we are in pursue of the Archangel and I will have you and the others launch soon so you'd best prepare." Le Crueset stood erect and relaxed near the doorway.

Athrun spun around "Co- commander" he stuttered saluting him stiffly. "Yessir" he said immediately heading to the change rooms.

" Took ya long enough to get the message" jeered Yzak who (for the sake of everyone's sanity) was already changed and was pulling on his gloves.

"We thought you got stuck in your room or something."

Athrun ignored Yzak and quickly changed

"Lezzgo!" He said once he was changed and hurried out of the room

"Wow what got him in such a bad mood???" Dearka asked walking lazily into the room

"Beats me", replies Yzak. "I praise whatever caused him grief." then he exited the room.

Dearka shook his head wearily. "That's my Yzak" he chortled and got changed.

Yzak climbed into the duel and turned it on. "Yzak Joule. Duel Launching!" His mobile suite was shot into the zero gravity battlefield. "Alright so how do we hit this thing?"

"No idea" said the Buster pilot floating up beside him

"Stop floating around and let's go!" Athrun said. The Aegis flew off.

Yzak's brow creased and he snorted in annoyance. "What's with you Zala?!" He retorted. "We weren't even given orders you idiot!"

"If you weren't listening, we are supposed to attack the EA" Athrun huffed, beginning to lose his temper.

Yzak, in response, merely rolled his eyes in aggravation. "Ya think ya know everything don't ya? Well Mr. Big-shot, Ever heard of a battle plan?" He sneered.

"Have we ever had one before??" Dearka asked looking from Athrun to Yzak.

"WELL MAYBE WE SHOULD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" fumed Yzak.

Dearka just shook his head in reply and followed Athrun out onto the battlefield. Yzak upon cooling down followed behind Dearka.

"ALL HANDS TO LEVEL TWO, BATTLE STATIONS" Said a voice coming over the intercom of the Archangel.

"Perfect." cursed Kira dropping his fork on to the plate in front of him. "Just perfect..." He ran to the Strike and hopped into the cockpit. "Kira Yamato, Strike. LET'S DO IT!" Kira was then launched into the dark endless void of space. "ZAFT again" He muttered to himself. "Fine then just show me where to shoot..."

Just then the Buster swooped up behind him and thrust his sword towards the Strike's cockpit.

"AAAAAH!" Cried Kira in shock and fear. How was he to know they were already in such close range?

The blade came closing in when it was suddenly knocked away by the Zero

"Ah...Thanks..." muttered Kira

"No problem kid, now get back to work" LaFlaga said over the intercom. Kira nodded and started to attack the Aegis. The Aegis managed to evade every attack thrown at it. is it that Kira isn't concentrating? He began to feel an awful churning sensation in the pit of his stomach. "Ooh..." Kira moaned softly. _What's wrong with me_? Then he felt an awful heaving feeling, like someone is pushing on his stomach repeatedly. "Ugh!" He groaned out loud.

"Something wrong kid?" Commander LaFalga's voice came over the intercom.

"Nnnnh... I.. uh feel kind of sick..."

"This is really not the time!" LaFlaga complained "We kind of need you out here kid"

"Uh... Uh y-yeah..." stammered Kira.

Then Kira felt a huge thud behind himself, as if something was thrown at him rather forcefully. He had been hit from behind by the Aegis' sword. "KYAH!" He yelped caught off guard by the attack then spun around to meet the challenge. The Aegis was right behind him, ready for another attack. The strike raised its shield in defense.

"Aren't you gonna fight back Kira" A voice said coldly coming over the speaker. Kira immediately recognized the voice as his old friend Athrun's. Kira would have said something in response but he couldn't seem to find his voice.

Athrun hated the whole idea of having to fight his best friend and possibly kill him. But what could he do? He was a mere ZAFT Solider, nothing else. All he could do was fight and hope that by some miraculous fluke the war would end and they would both still be alive. But like that was ever going to happen. He had sworn to himself that he would kill Kira before the war ended it Kira didn't kill him first. Just the thought of attempting to kill his best friend made his stomach do a small flip. He didn't want to but it was the only way he'd ever be able to avenge Nicol's death. A soft moan drifted through the speakers to Athruns ears. "Hm?" Athrun looked at the speaker quizzically and then up at the monitor. Someone had moaned, that was for sure. But who?

On the other side of the speaker Kira was feeling sick to his stomach. _Damn! What's with this? Coordinators rarely get sick!_ He thought bitterly. The Strike raised its sword and thrust it at the Aegis. Surprising considering his current state his aim was true and he took out a lot of the Aegis' systems. He sliced into the cockpit but pulled away before he seriously cut Athrun. "WOA!" exclaimed Kira in surprise.

"Huh?" Athrun said in alarm as the strikes blade came cutting through the cockpit towards him. But just as suddenly was pulled away from him, leaving a bloody gash in his arm. "oh ow" He moaned. Then quickly looked out at the battlefield. "Looks like Kira couldn't bring himself to kill me. Which is really a shame because that means I'm gonna have to kill him first." He said to himself, a rush of adrenalin pulsing through his body. The Aegis then quickly got behind the Strike and sliced at its armor.

"AH!" yelled Kira and the Strike spun around to face the Aegis _... Dammit Athrun..._

The Aegis then pulled back and thrust the sword violently towards the Strikes cockpit. The strike raised its shield in defense. Inside the Aegis all the sensors were beeping red. _WARNING_ read the screen in front of him.

"Huh?" Athrun quickly ran a system check on the mobile suite. The Strike's sword had cut a lot of circuits. "Great" He mumbled "this doesn't look too promising." Without warning the Strike's sword was back upon him but this time it chopped off the Aegis' head! "Oh, just great" Athrun huffed, trying to fix some of the system.

_Just back out already! _Fumed Kira. He didn't want to hurt Athrun if it could be helped.

"No way I'm backing out of this" Athrun mumbled to himself. "I can still fight back."

"Y'no Athrun" said Kira coldly "You're in no shape to fight so why don't you just give up?"

"No way I'm giving up" Athrun shouted in response.

Kira frowned "Then I'll have to kill you..." The Strike lunged at the Aegis it's sword aimed strait at the cockpit.

"AH!" Athrun exclaimed as he managed to move the Aegis to the left, just avoiding the Strikes sword.

"DAMN!" cursed Kira loudly.

"That was too close" Athrun muttered as he prepared the Aegis for an attack. BEEP BEEP BEEP! The inside of the Aegis flashed red. _WARNING WARNING_. Suddenly there was a huge tremor and everything went black.

"Unnh," Athrun opened his eyes and stared into the pitch black of space "Wah- what happened??" He moaned lifting his head and looking around. There was a lot of wreckage about him. It was strange and didn't make much sense at first but then it occurred to him. This was the debris belt! "Oh.." Athrun pushed off of a small platform and began to explore. "Great I'm trapped here." Athrun's eyes spotted something else floating nearby. "Hm? What's that?" He mumbled to himself and floated over to it. Once he came closer it was easy to recognize as another person. In-fact, not just some other person but his rival and former best friend Kira. He was floating unconscious in the vacuum of space, his helmet cracked. "K-Kira!!!!" Athrun said, slightly shocked by the appearance of his old friend. Kira's body was floating lifelessly in space. _I-is he alive?_ Athrun thought as he grabbed Kira's hand and dragged him into a nearby wreckage that was once probably a cozy home. The crack in Kira's helmet had allowed most of the oxygen to escape. "Greeat!" Athrun remarked sarcastically. The began checking for an oxygen supply that may have been abandoned or managed to survive the explosion on Junius Seven. He found a container with maybe enough to fill the room for about 50 hours. Athrun sighed in relief and opened the container. The room began to fill with oxygen and Athrun, reluctantly removed his helmet. Kira groaned softly. Athrun glanced over at Kira then he quickly put on his helmet and left the room. Kira opened his eyes slowly then took a deep breath.

_I... can breath? In space?_ Kira floated into an upright position and glanced around the room. _Where am I?_ He walked over and opened the door not expecting to be greeted by the vacuum of space. His mouth opened in a silent cry and he quickly pulled the door shut. _Great... There goes about an hours worth of air..._ he thought bitterly.

Athrun began to explore the wreckage that was once Junius Seven. He sighed and began to explore small rooms and homes that were brought here after the Bloody Valentine Tragedy. While browsing the remains of the forever-lost PLANT he discovered many bodies. Woman small children and people his own age. Some with their mouths open in silent screams and others with looks of terror plastered forever on their faces. Athrun shivered at the sight of all these people and quickly headed back to where the remains of his Aegis was scattered. He looked glumly at the destroyed machine parts and glanced around the area. _Where is the distress signal?_ He thought frantically searching the pieces of his mobile suite. _Damn it's not here!_ He thought and hesitantly headed back to the small room where he had left Kira.

Kira floated inside the room light headed. _Who brought me here?_ He pondered. Just then the door handle smoothly turned and the blue haired Aegis pilot stumbled into the room.

"K-kira!!!" Athrun exclaimed, surprised he had already awakened.

"Wha-...?" Kira gasped in and then grabbed his gun and aimed it at Athrun's head, his hands quivering.

"Uh..." the blue haired soldier managed to say before falling silent. Kira was breathing heavily.

"Wh- what's going on here...?" Kira stammered in response his gun still pointed shakily at Athrun.

"I don't know!" Athrun replied "I woke up and I was floating in the middle of space!" There was no way he was going to reveal that he was the one who save Kira's life!

"... Okay easier question..." Kira paused and took a deep breath before continuing. " How did I get here?"

"No idea" Athrun responded looking briefly around the room. He slowly began to reach for his own gun.

Kira growled menacingly. "Don't even think about it!" He snapped his voice far from steady. "Try it and I'll shoot!" Though Athrun got this feeling he probably wouldn't or at least maybe hesitate.

Athrun quickly grabbed his gun and pointed it at Kira. "Now you shoot, and I'll shoot" He remarked, noting the surprised expression that momentarily flashed across the other boys face. Kira backed up slowly until his back pressed against the wall. Athrun took another step forwards "looks like I've got you cornered" He smirked. Kira merely grimaced in response.

"Fine then shoot!" He snapped.

Athrun examined the boys face. He sighed and lowered his gun "I can't and I won't" He mumbled, dropping his head and looking at the ground. He then turned and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?!" He said a slight note of fear in his voice.

"Out of here." The other boy said glumly, twisting the knob on the door and beginning to pull it open. Kira started to say something but then stopped. He turned his head away from Athrun and sunk back against the wall. Athrun quickly left the room and slammed the door shut behind him. He sighed and leaned back against the outside of the room. _Why can't we just be friends again? Like before this whole war started. _Athrun thought to himself, staring out into the dark void of space.

The door beside him opened slowly and Kira poked his head out wearing his cracked helmet. "You... You're not going to find another place with an oxygen supply..." He muttered closing the door behind him.

"I realized that" Athrun said coldly, eyes fixed on a far away star.

"I won't shoot you... I couldn't..." He sobbed softly "... even if I wanted to..."

Athrun turned his green eyes towards him. "Kira" He said softly, gently putting his hand on Kira's shoulder. " I couldn't shoot you either. Why else did I pass up the perfect opportunity to kill you?" He said quietly gazing into Kira's amethyst eyes. Kira stared back innocently his eyes filling with tears. He turned his head away hopping that Athrun hadn't seen. Athrun looked at Kira and sighed. He slowly slid his arm around Kira's shoulders and pulled him towards himself. He wrapped his arms around Kira and held him gently in his arms. "War can be tough on a person" He muttered. Kira sobbed softly his whole body quivering. Athrun let out another sigh and looked down at Kira. "It's okay Kira, calm down" He whispered "There's no one else here right now, we don't have to be enemies." Kira sniffed, hugged Athrun tightly, released him and took his hand.

"We'd better go inside..." He said shakily "My helmets starting to fog up." Athrun nodded and let Kira go.

"Okay let's go" He said opening the door and quickly pulling himself in. Kira followed still sobbing silently. He took a shaky breath and floated to a far corner. He pulled his knees against his chest and quivered slightly. Athrun looked over at Kira and quickly turned away.

"Sure is cold in space..." mused Kira lightly.

"Hm. Guess it would be." Athrun replied, head still turned. Kira shivered again and took a long shaky breath. He gazed at Athrun through slightly closed, watery, amethyst eyes. Athrun looked around the room. "Well not much to do here" He remarked, eyes falling on a stuffed kitty in the corner. He floated over to it and picked it up. It was pink and had a sewn on button for a nose. it's eyes were small black stitches on it's head and it had a green bow tied around its neck. _So many innocent people died on Junius Seven_ He thought, memories of his mother returning to him. He sighed and let go of the plush kitten.

"Athrun?" Kira floated up behind him silently. "... Things sure have changed in three years..."

Athrun solemnly nodded. "More than I ever would have expected." Kira had removed his helmet and was now staring at Athrun. He sighed shakily and wrapped his arms around Athrun's waist. Then buried his face into his shoulder. "Uh! Kira!" Athrun said, surprised and caught off guard by Kira's sudden embrace. Kira sobbed freely into Athrun's shoulder letting loose all the pain that was piling up inside since the start of the war. Athrun smiled faintly to himself and hugged Kira tightly. They stayed like that for a while until Kira's sobs subsided and gave way to sleep...

-END CHAPTER ONE-

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**OK so that was the first long chappie yay! Lol um sorry about the spelling errors. I haven't had time (and am frankly too lazy) to edit sorry!**


	2. Junius seven

Kira's eyes opened wearily. "How long have I been asleep?" he mumbled rubbing his eyes.

"About three hours" Athrun remarked looking over at him. "I tried to wake you up an hour ago but you threw a lamp at me" He added, holding up a broken lamp. "Shoulda known" He grinned.

"Oh! Ha... I'm sorry!" Laughed Kira.

Athrun smiled "Well next time I try to wake you up. I'll move all the possibly dangerous objects away first!"

Kira laughed and then smiled at Athrun. "I've missed you..." he said " and you hardly look any different than you did three years ago."

"You haven't changed all that much either Kira" He said smiling. "In fact besides looking a few years older you really haven't changed at all."

"I suppose I do still cry a lot..." he murmured as the bridge of his nose turned crimson.

"It's okay, that's just part of you" He smiled "Plus, It's how I remember you. It's nice to know that you're still the same Kira I knew three years ago."

"Yeah, I guess..." Kira responded still smiling. Athrun sighed heavily and leaned against the wall behind him.

"I'd still like to know how we both ended up here..." muttered Kira.

"Yeah me too" Athrun remarked looking up at the ceiling. Kira gave Athrun a thoughtful look.

"Aren't these the remains of Junius Seven?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah" The Aegis pilot mumbled, looking down at the ground. Kira's mouth formed a silent "o". "But why does it matter?" Athrun asked, tilting his head and looking quizzically at his former friend.

"I suppose it doesn't..." sighed Kira. The two sat there in an uneasy silence. Kira shifted uncomfortably.

"Uh... What are we going to eat...?" said Kira softly.

"I have no idea" Athrun grumbled, looking around the empty room.

"Great!" moaned Kira. "Now were going to starve! Unless..." Athrun looked over at Kira.

"Unless what?"

"Unless we raid some dead person's fridge..." mused Kira. "The food will still be good... After all, things can't rot in space.

Then again I suppose that would mean we'd have to be fairly selective about what homes we go into. Some may still have bodies in them..." He shivered.

Athrun nodded his head "But you can't go anywhere with that crack in your helmet. And the air in this room will eventually run out." Kira turned his head slowly to look at Athrun. "What?"

"This means that _you_ have to go out and find all the supplies." Kira mocked, He swung his feet up onto a table. "While I sit around and do absolutely nothing."

"Hey that's not fair" Athrun argued "You aren't gonna just sit around and do nothing while I bust my butt out there looking for food!" He quickly left the room and came back a few minutes later, holding a ZAFT helmet. "there!" Athrun finalized, throwing the helmet at Kira.

"Wha- HEY!" whined a startled Kira catching the helmet awkwardly. "Where did ya get this thing anyway?!"

"I got it from a dead pilot, no more questions" He said, shuddering. "Now let's go."

"EEEW! I'm _not_ wearing this!!" squealed Kira tossing it back at Athrun. "It's CONTAMINATED!!!"

"No it's not!" Athrun pressed, catching the helmet and walking over to Kira. "Germs don't grow in space" He forcefully shoved it into the other boys chest. "Now suck it up and put it on" he demanded. The older boy shook his head violently. "Do it Kira" He snapped, growing fairly irritated.

"It's just..." Kira shivered "... Disgusting okay so NO!"

"Yes" He pushed "Put it one or you're gonna be left to die of suffocation in here."

"I'm not gunna die cuz I'm not wearing a helmet... Besides," Kira leaned forwrd and sniffed the helmet briefly. Then he drew back quickly "It smells like some thing died in it!" he paused. "Well it smells bad anyway. If I put it on_ then _ I'll die from suffocation."

"It does not" Athrun insisted dropping the helmet to the ground. "Okay but don't blame me if I forget to close the door on my way out!" He snickered and headed off towards the door.

"Hey!" cried the Amethyst eyed boy. "You wouldn't!!"

"I would" He jeered and put his hand on the doorknob.

"Athrun!!!" moaned Kira.

"In other words: Wear it or die" He said simply.

"You bloody murderer..." cursed Kira shoving the helmet on. Athrun just chuckled and swung the door open.

"Let's go!" He commented, once they were out of the room.

"Fine." mumbled a reluctant Kira. The two headed off in search for food.

"We'll have to organize a search." instructed Commander Le Creuset "If Athrun's still alive then we can't waste anytime."

"Does it matter? He's probably dead" The Buster pilot drawled. "What's the use of a search if all we're gonna find are bits and pieces of him scattered all over space."

"Well I'm required to tell you that we have to search anyway." Mumbled the Commander.

"Oh..."

"What a waste of time." snorted the silver haired teen to Dearka's left. Dearka nodded boredly. Le Creuset snorted.

"You have to at least put in an honest effort to find him." barked the Commander.

"Yes sir" The two boys sighed and stalked away.

"Teenagers..." huffed Le Creuset.

"Well let's go" Dearka said.

"Waste of time.." muttered Yzak.

"Okay how bou't we look for them later" Dearka said mischeviously, tweaking Yzak's nose.

"What in the meantime?" smirked Yzak.

"Do you really have to ask that question?" He asked, grinning bigly.

"I suppose not." replied Yzak smirking plenty as big. Then the two headed off to their quarters to do unsightly things.

"GOODNESS!" exclaimed Le Crueset. "WHAT _HAS_ THIS TEAM COME TO!!!!???" A pile of trash. LaCrusette thinks back upon the since deceased pilot of the Blitz. "Why do the sane ones always have to die?"

Meanwhile...

"Lookat at all this..." ,breathed Kira, looking through an old house.

"What about it?" Athrun asked, tilting his head and examining his friend.

"Everything... All of it... There's so much... So many people gone..." he breathed. Athrun looked down at the ground sadly and sighed. Kira wordlessly opened the pantry in one of the houses and pulled out a can of food. "I feel Kind of bad... I mean this really doesn't belong to us..." Athrun solemnly nodded

"But if we want to live..."

"I know, I know..." The two finished their searching in an awkward silence. Suddenly...

"AAAH!" Kira yelled.

"Huh? What?!" Athrun said in alarm.

"S-sorry... It's just a dead person..." stuttered Kira.

"That scares you?"

"Well yeah considering it's staring at me!" Athrun shook his head and closed the door. "I'm really starting to regret coming with you!"

"Why is that?" He asked Kira.

"Dead people..."

"It dosen't matter where you go! You're gonna find dead people" He answered, rolling his eyes.

"We-ell sorry Mr. I'm-so-used-tuh-seeing-dead-people-that-It-doesn't-matter-to-me-if-their-dead-or-not-either-way!" Athrun sighed and turned away

"Sure.."

"I just don't know how you can be so casual about it..."

"This is a war Kira. If you haven't noticed there are a lot of dead bodies involved." Athrun replied.

"BUT YOU ACT LIKE IT'S NORMAL!!! LIKE IT'S NORMAL TO SEE A DEAD PERSON! THAT'S. JUST. SICK!"

"In a war Kira, it is" Athrun replied and went off to search for more resources. Kira stared in disgust at his friend/enemy. He really wasn't sure where they stood anymore.

"You coming?" Athrun shouted across the barren gap between them. Kira gave an exasperated sigh.

"Yeah... Yeah alright..." He mumbled. They continued their search in silence. Kira glanced at Athrun uncertainly. _How can I even trust him anymore?_

"Hm? what?" Athrun asked, tilting his head and blinking a few times. "Something wrong Kira?"

"No um... It's nothing" He mumbled avoiding eye-contact.

"Okay" He said unsurley and turned away. _I guess that war can have terrible effects on something other than a country..._ thought Kira. _It has the power to break even the strongest bonds..._

Soon the two finished gathering supplies and returned to the small room.

"Y'no," said Kira ,"If we find the proper materials we could build a radio to call for help..."

"That might work.." Athrun agreed "but we have to find the right parts, so" He sighed "back out we go"

"Greaaat..." Kira mumbled and stuffed back on the dead soldiers helmet. They then went back out to look 4 a radio parts.

"I'm sure these people had some old microwaves or something..." mumbled Kira.

"Most likley" Athrun muttered.

"Even if it's a really primitive tv set or whatever..." Kira said picking up an old rag doll.

"Ya it should have the parts we're looking for... or we could just try and hook up and old telephone" He said, grabbing one from a nearby table.

"Ew..." said Kira staring at the phone. "That's one ugly phone..."

"Does it matter?!" Athrun asked, raising an eyebrow quizzically.

"Well... Kinda yeah..."

"You're very picky" He commented and put away the phone.

"Why because of the phone?"

"Yup and the helmet"

"I'm not picky I just..."

"Just..?"

"I just have standards that's all..."

"Yeah sure" Athrun mocked "Well it doesn't matter. It may still be useful" He said and left the room with the phone. Kira watched after him until he was gone.

"Yech!" he exclaimed sticking out his tongue. "Ugly phone!"

Meanwhile Athrun returned to the room. Strange enough it looked like someone had been there.

"Huh?" Athrun said looking around the room. "what happened here!?" A strange shadow moved on the other side of the room. "What the?" The shadow swiftly advanced on Athrun until it was only centimeters away. He stared at it. It stared at him. He blinked several times... "Uh.." The figure pulled out a knife. Athrun Backed away slowly. It advanced on him with great stealth. "Who.. or what are you?"

"Blood..." hissed the stranger in response "BLOOOD!..."

"Wh-what?" Athrun said in alarm.

"BLOOOD!" it practically screeched.

"U-uh..." He stuttered and made a break for the door. The figure slid in front of him and held up a knife. "AH!!" He let out a yell.

"BLOOD!" it cried.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!?!" Athrun cried, staring into the strangers eyes.

"BLOOD!!!! BLOOD!! BLOOD! BLOOD!" Athrun once again began backing away. The freaky and possibly insane person ran at him yelling "BLOOOD! BLOOD!" and backed Athrun against a wall.

Athrun pulled out his gun and pointed it at the guy. The man stared at him insanely without showing the slightest fear of the gun. He jabbed the knife into Athrun's arm and dragged it down his arm causing blood to spray (or rather float) from the wound.

"BLOOD!" he gasped and clamped his mouth over part of the wound, sucking longingly.

"OMG! AAAH!" Athrun pulled away from the psyco. "What the hell?" The strange man shivered happily and raced at Athrun again eyes wide with hunger. Athrun aimed his gun at the guy and fired. The bullet tore a hole through the man's chest and with an insane grin still plastered on his face his eyes went blank. Athrun sunk to the floor, still clutching the gun. He sat there and stared at the man, floating there moitonlessly in the middle of the room. Blood floated in the zero gravity of space. He sighed heavily and pushed the guy out of the room. Remains of blood were still in the room! "This is disgusting" Athrun commented as he scanned the room.

"Uhh...Athrun?" squeaked a small voice.

"Hm?" Athrun looked for the owner of the voice. Kira was standing just inside the door with his hand still on the door knob. "Oh, hi Kira." Athrun said. Kira stared back at him slightly white faced. "Um..." He looked around the room "You okay?" He asked looking back at the boy by the door.

"Wh... What's with the" he gestured at the door "... Dead guy?"

"Oh.. ya um.. just ignore him!"

"Um... O-okay..."

Athrun looked at Kira. "You okay?"

"It's- It's just that um..." he stammered. "... Dead people kind of make me feel sick..."

""Oh... sorry"

"Y-yeah o...kay..." The two stood there silently.

"So um..." said Kira quietly.

Athrun looked at him "Something wrong?"

"No! No... Nothing..."

"Uh.. okay."

"Now what?..."

"No idea."

"Don't we need to make a radio?"

"Uh yeah.." Athrun took out the phone and began taking it apart. Kira looked puzzled.

"Why do ya have tuh take it apart?"

"I need to figure out (Technical babble and such)" He explained.

Kira blinked. Once. Twice. "Umm..." said kira staring blankly at Athrun "Oh...kay..."

Athrun began taking apart and re assembling the phone.

"Can... I help?" asked Kira.

"Um yeah.. sure.."

"Okay..." said Kira. He watched Athrun quietly for a few seconds. "How?"

"Do you remember doing microunits in school Kira?" Athrun asked as if he was speaking to a little kid. Kira squinted his eyes and bit his lower lip.

He stayed like that for a few seconds before replying "No..." Athrun whacked his head and stared at Kira...

"Then I have no idea what you can help with." Kira looked dissapointed.

"Well there must be something!!"

"Not that I can think of.." Athrun mumbled as he started re-wiring the circut.

"Oh... Um alright then.." answered Kira feeling quite useless.

Athrun continued to work on on making the telephone into a radio. Kira watched quietly.

"Well there MUST be SOMETHING I can do to help!" he huffed.

"I dunno... can you think of anything?"

"Ummm..." Kira pondered this for a moment then sighed. "No..."

"Okay..." Work work. Kira twitch agitatedly. Athrun worked on the radio for some time. "done!" He said after a few minutes.

"Okay great!!" answered Kira enthusiastically. "Now um... how does it work...?"

"Just push that button and we should be able to tune in on a ship's frequency." Athrun explained.

"Oh um... Which ship though...?" asked Kira having a rather bad feeling about the whole thing.

"I'm not sure" Athrun said, looking around the room. "We can take turns and call our ships." He suggested, knowing there was a slim chance that, that plan would work.

"I... Guess" sighed Kira.

Athrun looked at the radio, "so who goes first?"

"Well... You did make the radio... so It's only right that you do..."

"um ok..." Athrun turned it on. Kira wished that he could do something to delay their parting but he new he couldn't.

"Hello? Testing can anyone hear me?" Athrun said into the mic.

"Indeed... Identify yourself." demanded a harsh voice.

"What ship is this?" Athrun asked, ignoring the inquisition.

"This is the Versailius. May I ask who this is?" said a softer voice than the first.

"Oh um Athrun" Athrun answered into the microphone

"Ah Athrun. So it would seem your alive. I'm sure it was nice to see your friend again."

"WHAT?" Athrun said in surprise, how did his commander know about Kira? _Creepy man..._ thought Kira shuddering. Athrun stared at the radio. "um..."

"I suppose you would like the Versalius to come pick you up. Am I correct?" inquired the voice.

"Um... yes sir" Athrun replied.

"Alright. I'll be there in a little under a day." replied the Commander.

------------------------------------

**Oookay that creepy blood guy scared even me o.O anywhoo please review Dearka and Yzak are a strange pair aren't they?**


	3. Archangel

Sai sighed and put his feet up on the table in the cafeteria. He glanced around and smiled when a small mechanical bird landed softly on his shoulder "BIRDEE" It exclaimed and he poked the small bird affectionately.

"Yeah, It's been over a day." Commander LaFlaga sighed, entering the cafeteria along with captain Rhamius. "I think we should mark him as MIA, there's no saying that he survived that last attack..."

"But there is still a possibility, however small it may be. We can't give up on Kira." Murrue replied. "Keep in mind commander that if we don't find him, you will be fighting off the Nazca class's three mobile suits on your own."

Mwu sighed and nodded "I know captain but there's no guarantee he's still alive, our safest guess is to declare him MIA and just hope we'll hear from him soon..." The commander scratched the back of his head uneasily as he spotted Sai and smiled.

Sai nodded and left with Birdee closely in tow. He wandered down the hallway keeping an eye out for Mir or Kuzzy. He soon found the two standing in one of the quarters having a discussion also about Kira's whereabouts. "Mir, Kuzzy..." He said quietly, not wanting to startle either of them.

Mir glanced over at the sound of his voice. "Oh, hey Sai. What's up?"

"Did they tell you anything about Kira?" added Kuzzy

"Um... well yeah." Sai replied uneasily. "They said they were going to classify him as MIA if they don't hear from him soon..." he looked from one to the other. Birdee chirped in agreement and flew over to Mir, landing on her head.

"Sai!" said a voice from behind him. Flay, who was walking briskly down the hall, stopped in front of Sai and stared up at him. "Where's Kira? I haven't seen him since the last battle."

Sai blinked, surprised that Flay hadn't heard yet. "H-he's missing Flay." He answered cooly. "Nobody knows where he is. They think he's most likely dead..." He looked at the younger girl, watching her reaction.

"WHAT!!??!!?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN DEAD!?" She shrieked.

Sai looked at Mir and Kuzzy for backup then looked back at Flay. "Look Flay, he's gone now ok? He might be dead and he might be alive but there's no saying what right now... I suggest that you go ask the captain for more details..." He sighed and turned away, glancing at Mir and Kuzzy as he left.

"Wha--? HEY! COME BACK! Don't turn your back on me!! Come back here! Sai? Sai wait! You know it was you I liked all along right? I mean, Kira and I, that was nothing! Sai! Sai! Come back!" Flay continued to yell after the three as they disappeared down the hall.

"You think she'll ever learn?" Sai asked as he lead the way towards the cafeteria.

"Doubt it!" snickered Kuzzy.

----------------------------------------------

"Damn thing!" Dearka said in frustration, twisting it one more time. "ARRGH! I give up!" The blonde then tossed the rubix cube across the room furiously and sat back down.

Yzak cocked an eyebrow and smirked in amusement. "Don't get too upset Ethman. It's a known fact that the smart get smarter and consequently the dumb get dumber so no one actually expected you to be able to complete it." he sneered as he twisted and turned the rubix cube until all the sides were one colour, minus a different coloured square in the middle of each. Yzak scowled. "Well what ever, but you get the picture."

"And as you have just clearly shown me, nobody is perfect." Dearka replied smugly.

Yzak grumbled incoherently, sat down on his bed, grabbed a book and started to read. "Whatever" he muttered.

Dearka laughed, standing up and walking over to his friend. "But nobody said imprefect was necessarily perfect either." He said, leaning closer to Yzak and kissing him lightly.

Yzak made a slight disapproving grunting noise but made no move to push Dearka away.

"Because you're perfect enough for me." He whispered, pulling back and walking back over to his, messy, side of the room.

----------------------------------------------

There was an over exaggerated sigh from the side of the room opposite to Athrun followed by an extremely annoying voice. "I'm bored..." Kira whined and then sighed again.

"So?" Athrun replied, fiddling with the dials on his home made radio.

"So," repeated Kira. "So make me not bored!"

"How am I supposed to do that?" Athrun asked looking up from the radio and over at the violet eyed boy across from him.

Kira pouted cutely. "I donno. You figure something out! Your the smart one!"

Athrun looked around trying to hide the obvious fact that he was blushing and sighed. "It's not like there's much to do here..."

"No but that's why I asked YOU to do something about it!" Kira stated.

"Like what?" He repeated, looking over at Kira once more.

Kira gave him an exasperated look. "You already asked that Athrun!!"

"That's because I don't know what I'm supposed to do to occupy you." Athrun huffed.

Looking upset, Kira groaned and flopped back into a laying position (despite the fact that he was floating) and glared at the ceiling.

Athrun sighed and floated over to his friend. "Do you have any ideas?" He asked, looking down at him.

Kira scowled. "No"

"Ok..." He returned to his former spot and sighed, watching Kira.

Kira sighed even louder and then paused. pushing himself back into an upright position he looked over at Athrun. "So... What gonna happen then?" he asked.

"The Versalius is going to come pick me up, it's up to you if you want to come... but if you want to contact the Archangel you can..." He said, motioning to the stationary radio.

"Oh..." he replied quietly. "But... I mean, I don't want to join ZAFT but you realize we're gonna get split up again right?"

The azure haired pilot nodded solemnly, not looking at Kira. "Yeah..."

Kira dropped his eyes to the ground, his shoulders dropping. "And... You're okay with that?"

"No... but what else can we do?" Athrun replied. "Neither of us are willing to stop fighting... We're just... stuck."

The older boy nodded gravely, his eyes still downcast. Just then an idea hit Kira (ow). "Hey Athrun," Kira started.

Athrun raised his eyes and looked at Kira. "Yeah?"

"What if we didn't wait for one of the ship to come?"

"What do you mean?" Athrun inquired, sitting up straight.

"We have alot of supplies here, so couldn't we make, like, a shuttle or something and get out of here on our own?"

"Kira..." Athrun sighed and looked at his beaming friend "We can't... I mean... you might be able to but... I can't just leave this war..."

Kira's smile faded. "Why?" he questioned dejectedly.

"Because... I need to finish what I started... I can't just sit by and watch this happen... If there's something I can do to end this war then..."

"And you think fighting will end this war!?" Kira shot back. "That's what's fueling this war! Do you really think one soldier will matter?! Do you really believe that just one more person fighting for what they've chosen can help end this war?"

Athrun blinked, taken aback "Well if we don't fight then how do you suppose we end this war? With words? We've already tried that Kira!"

"WE shouldn't have to do anything Athrun! WE are just two people! How can we possibly change to odds one way or another?!" Kira argued heatedly.

"It's better than just sitting around complaining about it and doing nothing!" Athrun shot "At least I have my own reasons to fight, that alone should be enough."

Kira stared back. "So what then?" he whispered. "Are your reasons to fight more important than you reasons not to?"

Athrun blinked "Kira..." The smaller boy didn't respond but instead just stared back into Athrun brilliant emerald eyes. Athrun sighed "... no, they don't... But that's no excuse... now that I'm part of the war I can't just quit..."

"So your saying," replied Kira slowly "that people like you and me should just keep fighting until we die?"

"No... but it just doesn't feel right... to leave all this behind... I'm part of it and I can't just back down now... I may still be able to make a difference in this war..."

Kira shook his head. "Fine. If that's what you believe... Then shoot me now."

---------------------------

**OOOH well ok guys now it's your turn to tell us what to do next. Should Athrun turn his gun on Kira or not? So just click that little button at the bottom that says go and let us know what you think!!! Can't wait to hear from all ya's! Hopefully we can get enough reviews to update this week!**


	4. Found

"Kira you're being ridiculous!" Athrun argued, "That doesn't mean I'll shoot you... I just can't leave now..." He frowned, watching Kira's expression closely.

The smaller boys gaze didn't waver. He continued to stare at Athrun. "You've changed Athrun. I think we both have but it's not just, just by the way you act. I can see it in your eyes and hear it in your voice." Kira said, his purple eyes still locked on Athrun's. "You really are nothing much more than a ZAFT soldier are you?"

Athrun blinked, taken aback. '_Nothing but a ZAFT soldier?' _"Kira..." The two stood there in a tense silence Athrun's mind racing for something to say.

"Why don't you explain to me Athrun why it'd be so different shooting me now when you would have and tried to just yesterday." Kira said coolly. "How is it any different? Is it because you're facing me directly and not the Strike?"

Athrun frowned "Do you _want_ to die?"

"Would you shoot me if I said yes?" countered Kira. Athrun paused, watching his friend the distance between them seemingly growing further and further though neither were moving. The air was thick with tension. They stared into each others eyes hatefully form across the room. "Well!?" demanded Kira.

Athrun looked down sadly and shook his head. "No..." He mumbled, "I wouldn't... I guess it is different. When you're on the battle field everything moves so quickly that you never really realize what you do until after the fight." He gazed at the floor. "Whenever we fight... we never see each other we just see the machine the other is piloting, it's harder to turn a gun on the person..." He paused and quickly changed his choice of words, "Someone you know when you can see them... hear their voice and even see their expression if you do shoot them..." He sighed "But would you honestly say that you would shoot me if I asked you to?" Athrun raised his eyes to meet Kira's.

"No..." Kira stated flatly. "You're right I wouldn't but that doesn't have anything to do with why you're going to stay in the war."

He shook his head and pushed past Kira, "No, it doesn't." He muttered icily. Athrun then opened the door to the room and left quietly, leaving Kira by himself.

ELSEWHERE

"It's been over 48 hours now." Sighed Murrue twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "I'm afraid we don't have a choice. We have to declare Kira as MIA."

The blonde earth forces commander standing opposite to the flustered captain sighed and un-crossed his arms, running a hand through his curly hair he looked over at Murrue, "I suppose that would be the most practical thing to do now wouldn't it?" He commented, sticking his hands into his pockets and shifting restlessly against the cool metal wall.

"We should have declared him that hours ago." The stern raven-haired woman commented, drawing attention to herself as she spoke. "Kira has been missing for far longer than he would be if he was still alive." Natarle Bageruel explained cooly, the grim lieutenant's violet eyes watching her two superiors intently. "Waiting for him was already mistake enough, we don't have any reason to continue to stay stationed in this area. If you will give me permission, ma'am, " She continued, speaking solely to Murrue, her violet eyes shifting to view her commanding officer. "I would like to request we exit the vicinity immediately. Sensors already indicate that the Nazca class ship we encountered earlier has not left the area either. The odds that we could stir up another battle now are definitely out weighted."

Mwu sighed and shook his head "She is right you know." He reasoned, looking over at Murrue.

The captain massaged her temples. "Alright." she sighed. "I guess we don't have any other choices. We've waited as long as we can so-"

"Ma'am!" Chandra interrupted. "We're getting an unidentified radio signal."

"Where's it coming from?" demanded Murrue.

Chandra paused. "It's coming from the continent!"

"Junius Seven?" Mwu asked in disbelief. "Why in the world would a signal be coming from there?" He inquired, frowning and straightening up.

"Can you get an audio?" Lieutenant Bageruel asked, snapping immediately into action as Chandra spoke.

The brunette frowned and continued to search, his brows furrowed. "Not yet ma'am, but I can continue searching." He replied quickly, feeling the stern lieutenant's violet eyes burning holes into the back of his head.

"Good, continue to watch the signal." Natarle barked. "Tonomura!" She snapped, causing the other soldier to stiffen at the call of his name. "Get the signal on the screen. Let's see if we can try to track it!"

"Yes ma'am!" He saluted, before returning to his seat and pulling up an image of their surrounding area for the three officials.

"Hmm, looks like it's stationed not too far from us." Mwu pondered as he examined the large scale map before them. "What do you think captain?" He asked, turning to view the brunette sitting behind him and flashing her a mischievous smile. "Is it worth checking out?"

Murrue nodded. "It could very well be Kira. I'm not going to take any chances. If it's possible he's alive I think it's worth checking out."

"But ma'am!" The lieutenant started.

"Set course for the continent. Locate that signal!" yelled Murrue then turning to Natarle added, "That's an order."

Natarle frowned but restrained herself from protesting further. "Everyone to your stations!" She called, alerting the remainder of the crew on the bridge.

"You really think it'll be safe enough to take the Archangel down there?" Mwu asked, leaning closer so only Murrue could her his concern. "If you'd like, I can go and check it out with my Zero."

She paused. "Yes your right that probably would be the best option." Murrue decided. "I'll have the Archangel ready to back you up if it comes to that."

The blonde commander nodded and took off towards the hangar. "Don't worry I'll be back in a flash." He called over his shoulder as he exited the bridge.

Murrue watched after him "Be careful Mwu." She muttered before returning her marigold eyes to the screen in front of her.

------------

Kira was bored. He was lonely, and he was bored. The small brunette's eyes were focused on the ceiling above him while his mind strayed to his and Athrun's previous conversation.

"_When you're on the battle field everything moves so quickly that you never really realize what you do until after the fight. Whenever we fight... we never see each other we just see the machine the other is piloting, it's harder to turn a gun on the person... Someone you know when you can see them... hear their voice and even see their expression if you do shoot them... But would you honestly say that you would shoot me if I asked you to?" _

Kira sighed. _Apparently Athrun feels a sense of commitment toward this war, _Kira thought bitterly. _It's more important to him to see this war through than to escape it and have chance at peace... With me... _He glanced sadly at the door. _Oh well,_ he thought _I guess I'm stuck in this war too... I can't escape without his help..."_

Suddenly some interference from the small homemade radio made Kira jump. "Hello? Hello is anybody out there?" A familiar voice called through the speaker. "Kid? Is that you?"

The brunette stared at the radio in disbelief as a single thought crossed his mind '_Mwu!'_

"Hello?" The voice repeated, being fuzzed slightly by the occasional interfering static. "Anybody? This is the TS-MA2mod.00 Moebius Zero of the Earth Forces Ship Archangel; does anybody out there need help?

Kira blinked in surprise and jerked up "The Archangel! It's alright!" He exclaimed, pushing himself over to the radio and scooping it up. "Hello? Hello Mwu!" Kira announced into the radio, speaking as clearly as he could in order for his commander to pick up the signal.

"Kira?" Came Mwu's astounded voice over the small speaker "Hey kid! You're alright!"

"Yes I'm fine!" He replied in excitement "How'd you find me?"

"We picked up on your signal a while back. The captain sent me out to investigate." Mwu replied, "Hey listen, I'll radio in and tell them you're alright!" He explained "You just sit tight, we'll get you out of here as soon as we can!"

"Alright." Kira answered a sense of relief washing over him. _ I can finally get out of here..._ he thought. Then it struck him that Athrun was still around and on top of that he had radioed the Vesalius and given them the coordinates! _Oh no!_ Kira's eyes widened '_, but they wouldn't... I mean..._ Glancing at the door he thought _'they couldn't turn the remains of Junius Seven into a battle zone... Could they?'_

--------

**Well everyone! After much blood, sweat, and tears we finally finished the next chapter!!! Hooray! So what do you guys think should happen next? Will ZAFT start a battle amidst Junius Seven? Will Athrun and Kira ever get to have their dramatic kiss? (on behalf of ****boRed-consPiracy.) Dun dun dunnnnnnnnn please keep reading and I'll attempt to make my sister write her half faster this time! Peace:**

**Noodels **


	5. Conflict

_------------------_

"Yeah, It's the kid!" Mwu confirmed, his voice coming over clearly on the speakers of the Archangel.

"Really!" Mir's shrill voice sounded over the radio "It's Kira!?! He's actually alright!" she quickly regained her composure "Uh right, yes, thank you zero. You can return."

"Aren't we going to pick him up or something?" Mwu inquired, his profile flicking onto the main screen for Murrue to view. He looked confused.

"Of course but I don't think you would be able to fit him and yourself in there at the same time." she explained. "And we certainly don't expect you to try. The Archangel will go pick him up. Please return to the ship."

Mwu heaved and exasperated sigh "yes ma'am."

"Good." Murrue finalized, "crew to port! We're going to pick up ensign Yamato!"

------------------

Athrun wandered blindly through the wreck that was once Junius Seven, his profile merely a silhouette in the dim flare of sunlight that constantly shone throughout the barren wasteland known as space. The boy's emerald eyes slid over the metal wreck that encased the debris belt as he floated through the area, his mind replaying the incident with Kira over and over unceasingly, making him unable to forget. _'You don't understand Kira,'_ Athrun thought in frustration. _'I can't just leave this war... It's hard to explain but I just...'_ Athrun heaved an exasperated sigh and grabbed onto a nearby piece of metal that remained jutting out of the old continent, serving as a reminder of the murder that took place not less than a year ago on this very soil. He turned his green orbs back to the room where him and Kira had previously argued and shook his head _'I keep finding myself back here.'_ He thought, noting the familiar backdrop of void-like stars that clung to the thick darkness surrounding him. _'I guess I can't run forever though. I have to face him." _The young coordinator heaved another sigh and pushed off towards the enclosed building that hung, suspended in the empty sky.

-------------------

"Kira?" Came Athrun's familiar voice from the other side of the room, wrenching the small brunette out of his horror stricken thoughts.

Kira glanced over. "Oh, Athrun it's you. Listen, we have a problem!"

Athrun blinked in surprise "Um... what is it?" He asked, finding it unusual that Kira was not still mad. He quickly closed the metal door and pushed off the wall, floating over to the brunette, his emerald eyes watching Kira inquiringly.

Looking somewhat panicked he gently pushed against Athrun's chest to prevent him from bumping into him and looked into the younger boys emerald orbs. "The Archangel picked up a signal from the radio and contacted me... I..." he hesitated. "I told them the coordinates and they said that they're coming to get me... It was stupid... I wasn't thinking right... I just... Athrun, they're gonna turn this place into a battle field!"

Athrun's green eyes widened in disbelief, "Kira..." He trailed off, his mind racing. "We have to find a way to avoid that at all costs... Junius Seven can't become a battlefield." He stammered.

"I know that!" Kira cried "But there's just no way Athrun! We can't..." He stopped. "Well.." Kira continued "There is one way... but..."

Athrun blinked in confusion "There is?" He inquired, his green eyes watching him curiously. "How?

"If we were able to construct something to travel in, maybe we can have one of us travel to a different area but we don't have the time..." Kira explained.

Athrun frowned, not catching on. "So...?"

"So... That's it..." he responded. "Obviously, it wouldn't work... Unless one of the engines from either the Aegis or the Strike wasn't destroyed in which case all we'd have to do is find something to attach it to..." Kira continued to voice his thoughts. He had moved away from Athrun and was pacing (as best he could in space) "Then... One of us could take the radio and get away from here. They would inform their ship so they could meet up somewhere else and that way the Archangel and the Vesalius wouldn't meet up and we could avoid conflict... of course after that we'd have to create some static interference so the ships wouldn't pick each other up on their radar..."

Athrun nodded to show he understood "But as you said earlier; we don't have the proper equipment." The blue haired coordinator continued, "My Aegis had been completely obliterated, and the Strike's engine isn't in good a enough state to function either." He reasoned, his eyes watching the brunette pace across the room repetitively. "If nothing else, one of us would have to alert the other ship and inform them not to come right away." He explained to Kira, his tone hollow. "While that ship comes to pick one of us up, the other can slip away and get as far as we can from this area." His eyes continued to trail the brunette, looking him over repetitively, unbeknownst to Kira. Athrun sighed and continued. "It's a little more primitive than your initial idea but, if given the appropriate amount of time, we could pull it off."

Kira sighed. "This is all too complicated Athrun..." he mumbled stopping his pacing. "You know... We could just leave Athrun... Like what I mentioned before... We could just leave the two of us and forget about al this..."

"Kira..." Athrun sighed and pushed off the wall over to meet the flustered brunette. "We can't, I already explained this to you." He muttered, placing his gloved hands on Kira's shoulders. His green eyes full of regret and sadness. "We're already part of this war... I want to but..." He trailed off. shifting his gaze away from the smaller boy.

"But Athrun..." Kira protested.

The dark haired teen sighed "Listen, I'll leave okay?" He raised his eyes to meet Kira's once more "I'll radio the Vesalius and tell them to wait. In the meantime; I'll get as far away from here as I can... Kira... I'm sorry..."

"But..." stammered Kira. He stared up at Athrun desperately hoping he would somehow change his mind. Averting his eyes Kira mumbled "Fine... Go..." Athrun released his grip on Kira's shoulder's and looked away as well. The small brunette turned his back to Athrun and ran the back of his hand over his eyes. "Aren't you going to go contact your ship?" he snapped bitterly.

Athrun blinked in astonishment "Kira are you...?" He trailed off, not knowing what more to say, his green eyes trained on the back of Kira's head.

"Just tell them okay?!" Kira shot cooly over his shoulder.

"Kira..." The blue haired coordinator mumbled, lowering his steady gaze to the floor. "Listen... I..." Athrun heaved a heavy sigh and shook his head "Okay, fine." The teen then turned around and swept up the small radio he had constructed. Athrun glanced hesitantly back at Kira, his green eyes boring holes into the back of the slender brunette's head, begging him to say something.

Taking a deep breath Kira turned around "Athrun please you have to-"

"Hey!" called a familiar voice from outside the room, "you in there Zala?"

Athrun's green eyes quickly flicked to the steel door separating the two of them from the stranger on the other side. "Yzak." The younger coordinator hissed bitterly, his eyes widening in surprise. Athrun stared icily at the door and cursed fluently under his breath. "Kira, you have to hide... or get out of here... or... SOMETHING!" He exclaimed, turning around briskly to see the brunette, his blue hair flying out around his face as he turned to face Kira, his green eyes wild with panic.

Kira glanced around the room desperately. "But there's no where to hide!" The smaller boy yelped.

Athrun's emerald green eyes began darting around the room frantically, attempting to find something Kira could use as a disguise. "I-I..." He sighed in frustration and grabbed Kira's wrist, wrenching the small brunette behind himself sharply.

"A-ah!" Kira exclaimed in surprise as Athrun dragged him briskly in tow, pushing him against the wall behind the steel door.

The flustered coordinator slammed his crimson ZAFT helmet onto his head and then proceeded to open the door slightly and peek his head out. "Yzak." He exclaimed sarcastically, his eyes blank as he spoke, giving away no sign he was concealing anything.

"Good to know your just fine." The white haired coordinator replied in an equally as sarcastic voice. "Now come on. The Vesalius is nearby."

Listening intently Kira pressed his back against against the cold wall behind him. His own heart was beating so loudly that he was sure the newcomer could hear it. _Please,_ he thought desperately _don't let him hear me..._

Athrun nodded quickly and glanced back into the room. "Alright, I'll be right there. Just... head back, I'll catch up." He then quickly shut the door and turned to Kira. "You have to contact the legged ship and tell them not to come!" He exclaimed, his words rushed. Athrun quickly grabbed up the radio and handed it to Kira.

Clumsily fumbling with the buttons Kira held the radio by his mouth and in a frantic voice he started "Archangel! Archangel this is Kira! Can you hear me?! Please respond! Archangel!"

----------

_"Archangel, Archangel! Please respond, this is Kira!_"

Lieutenant Bageruel frowned, her keen violet eyes narrowed as she listened intently to the voice of the your coordinator floating over the intercom. "Captain!" She bellowed, calling the brunette's attention away from the main screen.

Murrue floated over to the lieutenant. "Yes what is it?"

Natarle's eyes reverted back to the screen "Crewman Buskirk," She snapped, causing the small black haired teen to jump. "Bring the audio to the main speakers."

Kira's voice flooded through the main speakers"... Can you hear me?! Please respond! Archangel!"

Taking the headset from Kuzzy she placed it against her ear. "Kira! This is captain Rhamius. Is there a problem? Are you alright?" she inquired.

"Yes, I'm fine!" the young coordinator responded hastily. "Listen, I need the Archangel to stay where it is! DON'T come get me!"

"But why?" Natarle interrupted as she watched the soldiers exchange questioning glances.

"There's ah... a situation . I just need you to stay put!" Kira stammered.

Murrue frowned. "Kira we're already on our way!" she argued "Just stay where you are. If there's a problem I can send the Commander to-"

"NO!" Kira exclaimed frantically. "Stay where you are! I'll contact you again later when the, uh, problem is gone..."

"But Kira!" Murrue started.

Cutting her off, he repeated "Stay put!" With that the radio gave a concluding 'click' and the screen blinked in bright red; "Signal lost."

----------

"That should buy you at least some time." Athrun muttered as Kira flicked the small radio off, cutting his connection between himself and the Archangel. The blue haired teenager watched as Kira heaved an exasperated sigh. "Just stay here until the Vesalius has gone." Athrun continued, breaking the awkward silence that had been beginning to envelope the two. "I guess I should go..." He stammered, searching for more to say to the brunette, stalling for time.

The smaller boy raised his eyes to meet Athrun's. "L-listen..." he stammered averting his gaze once more, "I still don't understand why you want to stay in the war but..." Kira took a beep breath then continued. "Please be careful..." The boy muttered, averting his gaze to the ground.

Athrun blinked in surprise and gazed sadly at the small brunette in front of him. "Kira..." He stammered. "Are you...?" The boy stopped, realizing he probably would not get an answer. He sighed and resolved the play along. "Thank you... You be careful too, alright?"

Kira nodded keeping his eyes trained on the floor. Suddenly a confused expression crossed Kira's face. "Athrun..." he said slowly.

"Yeah?" Athrun asked, noting the perplexed expression displayed on the brunette's features.

Kira hesitated. "Is it just me or did it suddenly get harder to breath in here?" he questioned.

Athrun blinked in surprise and glanced around the room "I think the air in here is running out..." He replied. "You might want to think about putting your helmet back on."

"Right..." Kira replied grabbing the dead soldiers helmet and making a face.

"Well..." the dark haired coordinator muttered, turning his back on the small boy. "I guess I should go... Bye Kira..."

"Wait!" Kira cried, edging nearer to the blue haired soldier as he spoke.

Athrun froze and blinked in confusion. "What?" He asked, turning to, once more, face the smaller boy that had been behind him.

As Athrun turned Kira threw his arms around him, pulling the boy into a desperate hug. "Athrun..." Kira muttered, his voice muffled by the younger boy's chest. "I don't want to loose you..." He turned his head upwards so he could speak to Athrun properly, his messy mop of brown hair falling in his face as he spoke. "Please be careful out there."

Athrun opened his mouth and then closed it a few times, not really sure what to say to the smaller boy. Kira peered up at him, waiting for the blue haired boy to speak, his big amethyst coloured eyes watching him expectantly, reminding Athrun so much of when the two of them were the inseparable duo. Athrun sighed in defeat and nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine. But you have to promise me you'll d o the same." Kira smiled, satisfied at his friend's reply. He nodded quickly and resumed hugging the taller boy, not wanting to let him go. Athrun blinked in confusion, his mind whirring as to why Kira would suddenly do such a thing. _'Maybe there still is a chance for us to be friends.' _The blue haired soldier thought as he brought his arms around Kira, returning the hug. '._..or more.'_ He added hopefully, feeling the other boy's grip around his waist tighten as he went to pull away.

"Athrun, I'm not going to ask you to stay but... Don't go just yet, okay?" Kira pleaded still holding onto his friend. "Just stay for a few more minutes... Please..." He whispered desperately.

Athrun's green eyes flicked to the metal door quickly before returning to the small brunette in his arms. "Kira... If I do then Yzak will come back to check on me..." He replied quietly, dreading the brunette's reaction to his reply.

Kira tightened his grip momentarily and then pulled away his eyes downcast. "I'm sorry..." He said softly. "You're right... I shouldn't have said that... Sorry..."

The green eyed teenager frowned, "Listen... Kira..." He stammered, his eyes watching Kira carefully. "I... You..." Athrun sighed in aggravation _'Just tell him now! You may never see him again!'_ The small voice in the back of the boy's head warned as Athrun struggled to find his voice. A few seconds passed before Athrun finally came to a quick conclusion. "Kira listen; We can't promise each-other anything. What I'm trying to say is... No matter how many times you make a promise to someone..." He closed his mouth and resolved to try again. "Accidents can happen. Either of us could get shot down out on the battlefield at any given moment. I'm asking you to be careful but I know there's nothing either of us can to to ensure that we won't die out there! I could get killed tomorrow... and I know if that did happen I'd regret this for the rest of my life so..." Athrun hesitated before bending forwards and giving Kira a quick kiss on the lips.

The small brunettes eyes widened in surprise, "I... uh... Athrun..." Kira stammered staring up into Athrun's bright emerald eyes as he pulled away.

Athrun blinked in surprise and looked away, a light flush brushing across his cheeks. "S-sorry..." He stammered "Uh... okay... well... bye..." The blue haired coordinator quickly turned his back to Kira and headed for the door, pausing as he placed his gloved hand on the door's cold metal handle.

"No wait! Athrun!" Kira called running over to the taller boy. "Don't be sorry...I mean I... I didn't... mind..." he mumbled bushing deeply and averting his gaze.

Athrun's emerald eyes widened in surprise and he turned around to face the small brunette behind him. "You... didn't?" He asked, his voice a mix of surprise and confusion.

"No... actually... I kinda liked it..." Kira admitted smiling sheepishly.

"You... oh..." Athrun trailed off, his face turning bright red as his mouth remained fixed in a small-perplexed 'o' shape.

Smiling mischievously Kira leaned forward and captured Athrun's lips in another kiss. He slid his arms around Athrun's neck and began to subconsciously wind his fingers up in the younger boys soft, midnight blue hair. Athrun slid his arms around Kira's waist as he gently kissed him back, pressing his lips against the small brunette's.

Suddenly the door gave a loud click as the handle was turned from the other side. The two only had enough time to break apart before the door was flung open revealing a pissed off Yzak.

"What the hell's taking you so-" Yzak paused in mid sentence when he caught site of the two coordinators in each other's arms. Kira quickly pulled away from Athrun blushing deeply.

"Uh... Yzak..." Athrun stammered. "... Hi..."

--------

**YEY! Another chapter up! And fairly quickly too! HEH! Welly, well, well, looks like Yzak has just walked in on Athun and Kira's moment. Tsk, tsk, tsk, that should teach them to lock the door! So please review or my sister and I will withhold our next chapter! And YES! That was a threat! **

**Peace**

**Noodels**


	6. Threat

**Suddenly the door gave a loud click as the handle was turned from the other side. The two only had enough time to break apart before the door was flung open revealing a pissed off Yzak.**

**"What the hell's taking you so-" Yzak paused in mid sentence when he caught site of the two coordinators in each others arms. Kira quickly pulled away from Athrun blushing deeply.**

**"Uh... Yzak..." Athrun stammered. "... Hi..."**

---------------------------

Yzak Juule stared in disbelief and confusion. "Wha-" he stammered "What the hell!?! Who the hell is THIS?!?" the white haired coordinator roared yanking the small brunette out from behind Athrun Zala by his hair. Kira Yamato yelped and tried to pry himself away from Yzak's painful hold. The white haired teen glared at the small boy furiously. "So this is why you kept us waiting?!" he snarled switching his focus to Athrun. The short tempered teen took one more look at Kira's uniform and started up again. "An Earth Forces soldier!?! What's going on here!?!" He demanded pulling even harder on the smaller boys hair.

"Ow!" Kira cried in pain.

The blue haired coordinator stood still as Yzak continued to yell, his mouth hanging open in surprise, his face still a deep pink flush from when the silver haired coordinator had barged in on them. "Yzak..." Athrun stuttered. "I... uh..."

"You what? HUH? What's you explanation for this!!??" Yzak fumed.

Athrun heaved an annoyed sigh and made his way towards Yzak. Pulling the smaller boy from Yzak's grasp he pushed Kira behind him and turned to face the ticked off soldier. "It's nothing. I said I was coming and I am..." Athrun glanced wearily back at Kira before shoving the sliver haired teen out the door and slamming it shut.

Kira rubbed his head and looked at Athrun "This can't be good..." he mumbled.

The blue haired coordinator nodded, running a hand through his hair he sighed. "Yzak knows you're here now... He's probably going to tell the commander..." Athrun shook his head in dismay, "Great... no matter how you look at it, this won't end well..." He concluded, his green eyes roaming around the room restlessly and finally landing on the brunette in front of him.

Kira stared at Athrun hopefully. "There must be some thing we can do... Isn't there?"

Athrun sighed once more and glanced quickly back at the metal door cautiously. "I'll go try and stall him..." He looked back at Kira apologetically, "You try and sneak out of here while I'm keeping him busy okay?"

"O-okay" Kira stammered nervously. He stared at Athrun for a few more minutes trying to memorize every detail because, after all, he might never see him again. The small brunette leaned forward and gave Athrun a quick kiss and a hug. "Goodbye Athrun. Please be careful..." he said giving his friend a tight, desperate squeeze.

Athrun returned the gesture by planting a light kiss on Kira's forehead and hugging him back, trying to make their last few moments together matter. "Okay, you be careful too Kira." He breathed, his breath tickling the side of Kira's ear as he spoke, only softly enough for him to hear. Athrun then reluctantly pulled away from the brunette and, glancing back, he mouthed the words 'good bye' before exiting the room and quickly shutting the door.

---------------

Yzak boarded his mobile suit, darkly growling curses under his breath as he hoisted himself into the Duel's cockpit. _Oh you just wait till the Commander hears about this Zala!_ he thought smirking inwardly. His Duel had been left right outside the room where Athrun and his earth forces friend had taken refuge. After he was so rudely shoved out the door by the flustered Aegis pilot he set an immediate course for the Vesalius. _Fraternizing with the enemy! Ha! Zala's sure to be demoted if not tried for this simple felony._ The Duel pilot thought with malice, a sneer plastered on his pale face._ And I'll be the best pilot on the Le Creuset team..._ With that the Duel increased it's speed and shot off in the direction of the ZAFT ship.

----------------

The blue haired Aegis pilot exited the contained room, his emerald green eyes surveying the empty star filled sky. '_Yzak.'_ Athrun thought bitterly, realizing his hot-headed teammate had left the area without him. "Damn!" The teen cursed. He turned back to the room and tapped on the door lightly. Speaking through the door he hurriedly relayed the information to Kira. "You'd better get out of here!" Athrun exclaimed, his words hurried. "The Veasilius will probably be here in a few minutes. I suggest you find another place to hide!" He exclaimed, his eyes all the while scanning the empty void, searching for the familiar silhouette of the powerful NAZCA warship.

Kira shoved the helmet back on his head and threw the door open. "You mean he's already gone!?" Kira asked hurriedly. Cursing he shut the door behind his and scanned the area. "This isn't good," he mumbled. "Most of these rooms aren't even whole!"

"You have the helmet Kira." Athrun replied, slightly frustrated with the boy's lack of logic. "You'll be fine, just get as far away from here as you can!" He explained hurriedly, his eyes flashing in the direction the Duel had left in and back to the brunette before him. "Now go!"

"I can't move that fast!" Kira protested but seeing the panicked look in his friends' eyes he stopped. With one final glance at Athrun he pushed himself off from the small shelter with as much force as he could.

"Good luck Kira..." Athrun breathed silently, knowing the brunette was no longer in earshot to her his silent plea. '_Please let him be alright.'_ Athrun thought desperately, his eyes watching as Kira's slender figure disappeared behind a broken clump of building, the brunette moving quickly by pushing off the debris to gain momentum. The blue haired coordinator continued to gaze longingly at the spot where Kira had just been then, coming out of his reverie he switched his concentration to the spot he knew the Veaslius would appear in only moments. "Alright Yzak..." Athrun muttered coolly, his expression shifting into his usual unsurpassable mask, that of a soldier. "Tell them what you want... you have no proof now."

------------------------

"Yzak!" Dearka Elsman's voice floated to meet the white haired teen's ears as he exited his gigantic machine. "Hey!" The blonde exclaimed, meeting the boy as he descended from the Duel. "Did you find Zala or can we officially declare him dead?" He chortled, his voice it's usual sarcastic tone.

"No even better!" sneered Yzak. "Yeah, I found him and he was with an Earth Forces Soldier!"

Dearka's violet eyes widened in surprise, "Earth Forces?" He inquired in misbelief "What would they be doing there? Or even better, how does that get Zala in trouble?" The blonde pried.

"We'll it's not like he was keeping the guy prisoner." the Duel pilot answered, heading toward the change room. "Considering they had their tongues in each others mouths when I got there."

Dearka smirked "Zala? Seriously?" He laughed briefly before continuing to follow his white haired comrade. "I would have never imagined... At least not from someone like him!" The blonde smirked. "And with a guy none the less?"

Yzak laughed "I donno." he snickered "He's quite 'pretty' for a guy isn't he?" Laughing at his own joke he opened the change room door only to run head first into Commander Le Creuset. "S-sir!" Yzak stammered saluting. "I came to report that I-"

"No need Yzak I already know." the Commander coaxed.

Yzak exchanged a glance with Dearka. "Of course sir.. but... um... If I may sir, why are you in your flight suit? Are we going into battle?"

"Right on the mark Yzak." replied Le Creuset calmly. "We will be up against the Legged ship and this time I plan to finish it off for good." he concluded doing up the rest of his uniform.

"How do you know it'll be there?" the white haired teen asked cautiously.

The Commander smiled. "Suit up Dearka."

-------------

"He told us to wait?" Mwu La Flaga's confused voice asked curiously over the ships connections. "Why? Isn't he alright?" The blonde commander's face was pulled into a confused stare as he gazed into the video screen displaying the brunette captain's gentle face.

"We're not sure." Murrue Rhamius replied. "He said he was fine but he sounded a little on edge."

Mwu heaved a frustrated sigh and brought his had up to rub the back of his neck tiredly. "Well do we do what he says or go find him?" He asked, being already fully suited for battle he was in no hurry to make an unnecessary change back to his uncomfortable uniform.

"I suppose we should probably check out the area," she sighed. "and since your all ready suited up that shouldn't be a problem."

The blonde commander nodded "Good idea, I'll take my Zero out and check the area... The kid must know something we haven't clued in on yet..." Mwu frowned, thinking. "I don't understand how he would but... I'll go take a look none the less!" The blonde flashed Murrue a quick smile before clicking off the intercom, his image disappearing from the brunette's view.

_I can't imagine what Kira would be worried about._ Murrue thought. _Well, what ever it is, I hope it's not anything too major..._

-----------

"Hey! Open up!" the silver haired Duel pilot yelled, banging his red gloved fist against the cold metal door.

"Yzak, looks like you're back." Athrun's objective voice rose from behind the short tempered soldier, causing him to spin around in alarm, his piercing blue eyes landing on Athrun's relaxed form. "Finally come back to pick up the pilot you forgot?" He asked, his arms crossed over his chest as the blue haired teen peered through his helmet out at the annoyed elite. Athrun raised a skeptical eyebrow, awaiting Yzak's predictably snappy reply.

"I came to check out the place is all!" Yzak retorted. "I mean did you really expect me to let you hitch a ride in my Duel? Please!" He huffed. "Anyway, it looks like that Earth Forces friend of yours took off. Good thing too 'cause this place is a about to turn into a war zone."

Athrun frowned "A war zone?" He asked, blinking in interest, the blue haired teen's expression unsurpassable. "Why is that?"

"I don't know why but the Commander's decided that we're going to run in to the Legged ship in this area and he told us to be ready." Yzak explained cooly, his blue eyes fixed on Athrun, neither showing much emotion, other than the occasional wary glance at their surroundings.

"Hm..." Athrun turned his head to survey the gigantic warship stationed not far from the duo and frowned. "I suppose I won't be able to fight this one then will I?" He said, his question sounding more like than a bland statement. "My Aegis is... incapacitated." He coughed.

"Yup" Yzak agreed blandly turning his back on Athrun and heading towards the Vesallius.

Athrun followed, a few paces in tow. _'Dammit...'_ He cursed in his head, realizing far too late that the commander would have been ready for this. The soldier turned his gaze to where he had last seen Kira and prayed he had made it far enough to escape safely. _'Please be safe.'_ He plead silently as he followed to other boy back into the Vesalius, knowing as soon as he entered the ship he would, once more, be a soldier of ZAFT.

----------------------

The orange moebuis unit glided through the pitch black void of space, it's blonde pilot keeping his eyes peeled for unsuspecting obstacles. _'Nothing.'_ Mwu La Flaga concluded as he peered out at the star scattered sky, wondering what Kira was up to. "Where are you Kid?" He muttered, his eyes briefly flicking to the small radar built into his Zero unit. Suddenly the radio fuzzed to life.

Kira, who was hiding behind a large pile of debris, had spotted the Zero as it glided into the area. "Commander! What are you doing here?!" he hissed over the radio.

Mwu blinked in surprise. "Kira? Is that you kid?" The blonde pilot asked, bewildered.

"Yeah, It's me but why are you here?" Kira replied hurriedly "I told them not to send you!"

"I came out to scout the area." He replied, still confused as to Kira's strangely jumpy behavior. "Where are you?" Mwu asked. "I can come pick you up right now if you'd like... not that I'd have that much room... but..." The blonde commander laughed "We could make it work. You can just ride outside!"

"Haha." Kira replied sarcastically. "But really, you HAVE to get out of here. The Veasllius is in the area! I don't want this place turning into a battle zone!"

"The ZAFT ship?" Mwu asked in astonishment. "How do you know?" The blonde commander inquired.

"I-I can't tell you..." the brunette stammered. "I just know okay and unless you're looking to start a battle I suggest you get out of here."

"What about you?" The blonde commander's voice floated out of Kira's portable radio. "You're going to be stuck out here if I just leave." He reasoned.

Kira glanced around nervously. "I'll radio you when the coast is clear but for now-" He was cut off by a loud noise- the sound of a beam being fired. The beam shot past the zero, skimming it's metal exterior.

"Damn!" Mwu cursed loudly, his moebius unit swerving to avoid the deadly beam. "Looks like you were right Kid." The commander's breathless voice laughed from the small speaker. "You'd better get somewhere safe. I'll alert the others." Mwu ordered, firing back at the mobile suite responsible for the attack.

KIra watched helplessly as what he was trying to avoid took place before his eyes. "Okay..." he replied softly and pushed himself away from the debris he was using as a hiding place. _Athrun..._ he thought. _You_'d _better be alright..._

_---------------------_

"ZAFT is what?" The outraged voice of Lieutenant Bargeiule cried from her position in the Combat Information Center. "How did they spot us?" She inquired, her voice fairly enraged at the situation.

"I don't know!" The commander's voice spoke over the speakers, relaying the information to the rest of the Archangel crew. "I found the kid though..." Mwu sighed. "Although at this point I don't think it would be wise to come pick him up..." He stated cooly.

"Then what do you suggest we do commander?" demanded the captain. "Do you need back up?"

"Uh." The commander sighed. "What kind of backup do you have in mind? I don't think it would be wise to bring the Archangel into this..." He stated thoughtfully.

"Hm... Well that would be our only option." Murrue clarified. "I suppose your going to have to handle it on your own but I would like you to attempt to return to the ship as quickly as possible."

Mwu nodded and flashed the brunette captain a reassuring smile. "Aye aye captain. Don't you worry about a thing!" He grinned before his profile disappeared from the Archangel's main display, the screen giving one final concluding flash before turning black.

"Captain!" Natarle finally spoke up. "Don't you think we should do more in this situation?" The raven-haired lieutenant argued from her position in the CIC. "The commander is stranded out there all on his own. Not to mention the pilot of our only other machine is also stuck in the battle... without protection!"

"I realize that!" snapped Murrue. "But what would you suggest we do? There is no way we can engage in battle right now!"

Lieutenant Bagerule sighed and massaged her temples. "Wouldn't it be smart to go back up the commander anyway? We can't afford to lose another pilot _ma'am" _The stern military woman stressed, raising her violet eyes to survey her superior officer.

"The commander already told us, for whatever reason, that it wouldn't be wise for the whole ship to engage in battle." the captain explained. "If he asks us to then, and only then, we can back him up but for now just be alert and ready."

"But captain-" Natarle started up.

"There is nothing we can do right now!" interrupted Captain Rhamius. "We will just have to listen to the commander for now..."

Nataarle opened her mouth to argue but closed it again, realizing her effort would be useless. "Yes ma'am." she stated bitterly and returned her attention to the CIC.

---------------------

Kira watched helplessly as what he was trying to avoid took place before his eyes. "Okay..." he replied softly and pushed himself away from the debris he was using as a hiding place. _Athrun..._ he thought. _You_'d _better be alright..._

He floated to the nearest piece of debris, a large chunk of what was once a piece of a wall. The small brunette grabbed the edge with both hands and pulled himself against it. Pressing his back to the cool surface he edged along the wall. The battle between the commander and the ZAFT ship raged just on the other side. Kira knew he had to be careful. _If they spot me..._ he thought _I'm probably as good as dead..._ His hand slid along the wall just ahead of him, feeling a path. Suddenly he came to an abrupt stop, the end of the wall. There was no other debris close enough to float to. _I'm going to have to go to the other side..._ Kira realized. He paused uncertainly, his eyes scanning the area briefly. _There's no other way. _He confirmed. Taking a deep breath, the brunette quickly slipped around the edge.

------------------

Yzak's cold blue eyes scanned the area carefully watching for the Archangel, the legged sip that continued to evade them, his hands gripping the Duels controls tightly, ready to shoot at any given sign of movement. "Where the hell is it?!" The hotheaded coordinator hissed through clenched teeth, his blue eyes narrowed in sheer concentration. "The commander said it would be here." Grumbling in frustration Yzak started to turn back when a sudden movement caught his eye. Out of the corner of his screen, the Duel pilot saw a figure appear form behind a piece of debris, the unidentified person's back to the Duel. Yzak stopped dead in his tracks. _It's him!_ he thought a sneer spreading across his face as he noticed the bright blue flight suite his adversary was wearing. _Perfect..._ He thought, grinning with stisfaction as the Duel pilot raised his gun and aimed it for the small brunette. _It's time to eliminate the Strike pilot once and for all..._

-----------------

**AAAAHHHHHH!! OMG YZAK'S GUNNA KILL KIRA!!!! Hurry and review people or it will happen ¬¬ -shifty eyes-**


	7. Whirlwind

**Yzak's cold blue eyes scanned the area carefully watching for the Archangel, the legged sip that continued to evade them, his hands gripping the Duels controls tightly, ready to shoot at any given sign of movement. "Where the hell is it?!" The hotheaded coordinator hissed through clenched teeth, his blue eyes narrowed in sheer concentration. "The commander said it would be here." Grumbling in frustration Yzak started to turn back when a sudden movement caught his eye. Out of the corner of his screen, the Duel pilot saw a figure appear form behind a piece of debris, the unidentified person's back to the Duel. Yzak stopped dead in his tracks. **_**It's him!**_** he thought a sneer spreading across his face as he noticed the bright blue flight suite his adversary was wearing. **_**Perfect...**_** He thought, grinning with satisfaction as the Duel pilot raised his gun and aimed it for the small brunette. **_**It's time to eliminate the Strike pilot once and for all...**_

--

Athrun paced the floor of the Vesalius impatiently his green eyes narrowed as he thought about his friend. _'Please be safe Kira.' _Although the blue haired coordinator knew thoughts like that weren't going to help his small purple eyed friend Athrun heaved a somewhat helpless sigh and continued to gaze distractedly at the spot he had been continually staring at for the past few minutes. The flustered teen ran a hand through his hair in aggravation in attempt to shake free his worries about Kira, thinking hard of a way to make sure the brunette was going to be alright, he pushed off of the side of the wall and continued down one of the many steely corridors on the Vesalius. In his haste, Athrun found himself standing in the hangar, gazing sadly at the place his Aegis would have been, but, due to the previous struggle was now reduced to ruins.

"Feeling a little down about not being able to fight?" a familiar, cool voice questioned from behind him. The Commander stood a couple feet behind Athrun in his flight suit, the helmet held under his arm.

Athrun spun around by the commander's sudden appearance. "Co-commander." The flustered pilot responded a little hastily before finishing with a slightly off salute. "Sir... I-I didn't realize you'd still be here." Athrun admitted, still somewhat taken aback after being thrust from his thoughts back into real time. The blue haired coordinator watched curiously as Commander Le Crusette smiled, the familiar grimace that seemed much more taunting than it did anything else.

"Well of course I'm still here." Le Creuset drawled. "The fight still hasn't quite picked up yet. When it does I'll be launching in my CGUE. Rest assured, I'll take care of the Legged Ship. This'll be the last anyone will hear of it." Still smiling, the Commander gave him a small nod and headed back out of the hanger.

Athrun frowned the commander knew something. The blue haired coordinator's eyes followed him out of the room, watching keenly as the commander's back disappeared around the corner. Returning his gaze to the spot where his Aegis had previously been, he resumed his melancholy thinking. _'Kira.'_ Maybe kissing him before they parted wasn't such a good idea. Athrun considered, realizing how he could not preoccupy his mind since it happened. Frowning at the thought Athrun took off towards his room, maybe a shower would wash away his worries.

--

Yzak's keen icy blue eyes narrowed as the sensor on the Duel locked in on his target. _This is it,_ he thought, a wave of excitement surging through the white haired soldier, a smirk playing on his thin lips. Yzak tightened his grip on the trigger so much that even the smallest twitch would set off the gun. _It's time_ he thought bitterly _To get revenge for this scar! _ Yzak's fingers tensed, pulling back the switch completely and sending a beam shooting from the Duels gun just as the small brunette turned to face him, his violet eyes growing wide as the on coming beam shot out towards him.

--

Giving a conclusive huff Athrun took off, once more towards the hangar. _I have to make sure he's okay._ The navy haired soldier thought, his green eyes scanning the surrounding hallway to make sure he wasn't caught as he headed to the open area, holding the remainder of their transportation craft. The boy's green eyes landed on a nearby mobile armor and he grinned, an idea brimming to the top of his head.

--

Mwu cursed loudly as another beam shot off, nearly hitting one of his gun barrels. "Damn, this doesn't look good." He muttered, his voice strained as he banked hard to the left in order to miss another shot from the pursuing Buster.

The large mobile suite aimed it's gun once more but was sharply hit from behind by one of Mwu's wired gun barrels, the bright blast slowly ebbing off into the darkness as it's colour dissipated. Dearka scowled, this was becoming a slight bother. He once more aimed at the orange mobile armor and pulled the trigger, sending a bright coloured blast right towards the small unit, hitting it with an ear popping crack. "Yes!' Dearka cried in triumph as the small mobeius unit was left with nothing but it's small submarine-like shell.

'Damn!" Mwu cursed at his near brush with death. "Archangel, come in, I'm heading back!" He announced as he reconnected the signal between him and the giant legged ship.

"What happened?" Murrue's voice demanded over the radio. "Is the Zero damaged?" She asked, her voice brimming with concern as the picture of Mwu appeared over their main screen, his expression one of frustration.

"Yeah..." He huffed, his gaze shifting from the screen in his cockpit to the area around him, checking for any more unsuspected adversaries. "It's pretty torn up." He commented with a grim smile, his eyes meeting Murrue's.

"I'll alert the mechanics." she responded, averting her gaze and pressing a button on her control pad.

"What about Kira!?" Mir interrupted with concern, glancing up at the screen where Mwu's face was.

The blonde commander gave Mir an frustrated glance and returned his attention to Murrue. "As I already told you, he's waiting until we can come get him." He responded sternly, not liking to repeat himself.

"But we can't just leave him out there!" the brown haired girl argued, her voice full of concern.

"We don't have much of a choice!" Murrue snapped turning to look at the persistent blue-eyed girl, "Alright commander, return to the ship. And I suppose we'll just have to wait this out." She responded in her best business like tone, turning back to the front of the ship to give out orders.

"Okay." Mwu nodded in response, his connection once more being terminated as he resumed his flight path back to the Archangel.

--

Speeding past the loose debris of Junius Seven Athrun's green eyes narrowed with suspicion as his gaze landed on the familiar silhouette of the Duel, not too far off from his current position. _What is he doing?_ Athrun thought in wonderment as his eyes followed the Duel, which seemed to be standing quite still. The blue haired coordinator changed course to meet the Duel's standpoint position, his frown growing more defined, as he got closer. "Yzak!" Athrun called out, switching to the station ZAFT used for communication. "What are yo-" The boy started but was cut short when his eyes landed on the familiar limp form floating meters away from the Duel, blood spilling from an open wound in his chest. "K-K..." Athrun stammered, unable to complete his sentence as the realization slowly crept up on him. _Kira!_ Athrun's head nearly screeched as he remained silent, his mouth hung open limply in disbelief as he studied the horrific scene before him.

Kira's limp body hung eerily in space's zero gravity, the stolen helmet he wore earlier now floating a ways from his head, exposing his short chocolate brown hair and the blank, dead expression pasted onto his face.

Athrun stared at the scene in horror as he slowly felt his body start to shake uncontrollably, his hands lifted from the mobile armor's controls as he attempted to stop the shaking. "K-k-kira." He finally managed to stammer, his green eyes became blank and a small spark fury began to ignite within him. The blue haired boy was quickly overcome with rage as he once more raised his blank eyes towards the Duel. "Yzak." He growled bitterly, staring hatefully at the mobile suite before him. The one responsible for murdering Kira. With that Athrun let out and enraged yell and attacked his teammate, the warm tears that were previously welling up within his emerald eyes now streamed freely down his face as the blue haired coordinator's mobile armor shot a deadly beam at the Duel.

Blip. Blip. Yzak's screen indicated that there was a beam heading in his direction. _What!?_ He thought in alarm, his blue eyes flicking towards the oncoming beam, _but who else is out here?_ The Duel pilot yanked violently on the controls, frocing the Duel out of the way of the beam. "Who the _hell_ is this!?" he demanded glaring at the opposing mobile armor.

Athrun didn't answer as he shot another beam at his comrade, sadness and fury blinding him as he sped towards the Duel, pulling back moments before they collided and sending off another bright flash, towards the stationary mobile suite.

"AAAAH!" Yzak yelled shielding his face with his arms in an ineffective attempt to protect himself from the swiftly approaching beam. He braced himself for impact but nothing happened. "Huh?" Yzak moved his arms away and opened his eyes, surprised to find himself still alive. A large, powerful looking mobile suite had moved in front of the duel and blocked the shot.

"Are you alright Yzak?" Commander Le Creuset asked form inside the CGUE, his voice unusually calm, considering the situation.

"Y-yes sir! I'm fine!" Yzak replied immediately, still somewhat shocked from his near brush with death. "Sir? Who's piloting that mobile armor? It's one of ours isn't it?"

There was a short pause before Yzak was given his answer. "You're correct Yzak." the Commander responded. "I believe it's Athrun."

The white haired coordinator's eyes widened in surprise, "Zala?" he asked, astounded. "What, Why?"

Suddenly another bright beam was sent between the two mobile suites, breaking their connection momentarily as the ZAFT mobile armor moved in to attack the duel once more.

"You bastard!" Yzak yelled over the intercom. "We're on your team asshole!" the infuriated coordinator hollered, his voice heeding way to his increasing annoyance towards the blue haired soldier.

Ignoring Yzak's insults, Athrun fired off another beam at the Duel, the image of Kira's dead body continuously flashing through his mind, a constant reminder of his unbridled rage. 'Kira.' Athrun thought desperately, his green eyes ,once more, training on the small brunette that lay, sprawled out, floating in the endless void that was space. A red pool of crimson bleeding from a wound the Duel had inflicted on Kira, his wide amethyst eyes half lidded giving the boy a sort of dazed appearance.

--

He could see blurs of light and could hear explosions from what he assumed was a nearby battle. Kira willed himself to open his eyes, even just a bit but his body wouldn't comply... besides, it was much more relaxing to just lay there and let the darkness come, closing it's way around his body. Even the lack of oxygen didn't seem to bother him and Kira felt a strange distant feeling. It was as if his mind had separated from his body and, just as suddenly as the feeling hit him, everything came into focus. Kira knew he hadn't opened his eyes but he didn't let that bother him. What were once strange blobs of color had turned into two mobile suits, the duel and a strange one Kira couldn't identify, and another unfamiliar machine. This one was a mobile armor. The questionable machine was now locked in battle with the Duel. _That's strange_ Kira thought hazily _that mobile armor moves more swiftly than it normally would if a natural was piloting it. It's almost as if it were being piloted by a coordinator..._

Kira watched curiously as the Duel blocked and dodged the beams that were fired in his direction. _He's not fighting back_ Kira's observation mingled lightly in the back of his head. Just then, something caught his eye. There was something floating amongst the debris near the battle. Kira frowned and turned his head completely to get a better look. The "object" in question seemed to be a person. Moving closer Kira found he could make out some of the persons features such as their messy chocolate brown hair that seemed all too familiar. Kira's eyes widened in shock and horror. The lifeless body floating before him... was Kira.

--

The battle raged around him as Athrun continued his assault on the stolen mobile suite, the Duel. Bright beams flashed past him as he fired off some of his own, the neon colors momentarily lighting the display before him, shots fired from the machine. As the field swam before his vision a small, clear, ball of liquid floated into his field of view. The ball seemed to be inside his helmet. Then, just as unexpectedly, the orb landed on his face a small taste of salt detectable as his skin was dampened. Blinking, Athrun attempted to clear his vision, more watery orbs floating into his field of view as he did so. _Was he crying?_

Athrun quickly swept the question away and pulled the mobile armor's trigger once more, aiming it expertly on the Duel's cockpit. He was the one who did it! Rage he didn't even know he had continued to bubble up inside him, fueling his power and actions as he took another shot. _Kira is dead because of him! _The reminder forced Athrun into an even deeper state of anger.

"Yzak," The commander's voice crackled to life on Athrun's momentarily forgotten radio, drawing awareness to itself as Athrun turned his head to listen. "please head back to the ship now, I will deal with this on my own."

As this was said, Athrun could hear Yzak's bewildered response, his voice ringing of surprise and ignorance. "But commander..."

"That's enough Yzak, please return to the Vesalius. That's a direct order." The commander repeated, his smooth voice leaving no room for protest.

With that said, Yzak gave an indignant huff and lowered his weapon. "Yes sir." He muttered bitterly, his machine beginning to retreat.

Quickly noticing this, Athrun prepared to fire once more. _I can't let him escape!_

"Athrun!" Suddenly the commander's voice was now directed at him, his demeanor seemingly remaining as calm and controlling as always. "You to. Go back to the ship. We will discuss your... behavior regarding this issue at that time. Do I make myself clear?"

Choosing to ignore direct orders, Athrun continued his attempt to fire at the Duel, his hands becoming shaky. The realism of Kira's death was slowly beginning to sink in. Slowly, Athrun's hate began to ebb away, leaving in its place, a cold hollow void that felt much like a frozen rock. Kira was dead... His best friend had been killed... because he left him alone. Releasing the triggers inside the mobile armor's cockpit, Athrun dropped against the softly padded backrest, the last of his will to retaliate fleeing in a moment. Now Athrun could feel the tears, running wildly down his cheeks and breaking off, choosing to dance around inside his helmet in a mocking glide that constantly reminded him of Kira's avoidable doom. Breathing heavily, Athrun stared blankly at the glowing display before him, the silhouette of his friend's lifeless body suspended at the bottom corner of his screen. He had let him die...

"Athrun, now!" Le Creuset's voice cut through Athrun's thoughts sharply, jerking the dazed pilot out of his shocked mindset.

Swallowing thickly, Athrun attempted to regain his composure before replying to his commander's orders. "Yes sir..." He answered softly, his voice unsteady as he spoke. The rock in his stomach was stubborn, failing to disappear. Then, his emerald eyes drifted once more to the motionless shape outside his cockpit. _Could he at least retrieve the body? _The thought was foolish, Athrun knew that, it wasn't his place to wonder such things. _Kira..._

"I expect to see you in my office as soon as possible once you reach the ship." added the Commander his voice calm yet stern.

"Y-yes sir." Athrun replied meekly, his thoughts elsewhere as he continued to stare at Kira's limp form. What could he do for him now? His eyes flashing to the control panel, the pale coordinator heaved a sigh. There was no other choice... Punching in a few commands, Athrun sent out the signal.

* * *

**OMG I actually updated! XD My sister took FOREVER replying to her part so that's why it took so long! Sorry guys!!**

**All right, so what is Athrun going to do about Kira? What is going on with our timid coordinator? Maybe you'll find out in the next chapter? Maybe not! D**

**Please review, I'd love to hear what you think is going to happen!**

**Noodels**


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